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Blackwell seriesFinished the first game - Thoughts(23 posts)(23 posts)
(23 posts)
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Posted May 30, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed the first game and wanted to bring a few things to attention.
First of all I know it's an indie game and that it's not flawless, but I did find a bug that made the game crash. It's if you click on your notebook/notes, then click on the top left or maybe anywhere outside the note list, and the game crashes with a bug report. I'll attach the image of the bug report in this post.

The second thing is where the voice acting does not match the text (the text was supposed to be long) or the character says goodbye while it's supposed to say a different thing.

Other than those points I really enjoyed the story, the music, and I loved that I felt being sucked into the story. Length was a bit short in my opinion but had a nice conclusion.

Sorry if I speak out of place. I know it takes a long time to make a game. I've tried rpg maker, made a terrible game with full of bugs, so I can relate to it. Even if it's in a little way. I have no expertise on any indie games and before GOG came along with indy games, I never even paid attention to it.

Well I just wanted to share this and hopefully the developer can figure out how to fix the 'crashing to desktop' bug.
Attachments:
notebook_crash_t.jpg (43 Kb)
Posted June 01, 2012
I loved the first game and am about to start the second only 10 minutes after I finished the first - in fact I had no complaints about any of it :)

I also started to listen to the commentary on the first one, which is very interesting. What I though particularly fascinating was the developer talking about how he didn't like the opening of the game, and 5 years later wishes he'd done it differently.

I absolutely LOVED the opening of the game with the temporary doorman. Didn't find it frustrating at all, and that helped pull me in. i'll bet a lot of other people agree with me??? :)
Posted June 01, 2012
Finished the second game - really didn't like it at all. Graphics were poor compared to the first game (odd why the developers took such a huge step backwards?), story was dull and with little depth, and i hated that the pop-up heads I'd gotten used to in the first game didn't exist (they really help you become connected to the characters, I think, when you can actually tell what they look like). Plus, not a particular fan of the Lauren character, so that made gameplay excruciating - Was very happy when it was over :)

Am now midway thru the 3rd game, though, and it's excellent (got my big heads back :) So, so far, 1 and 3 - awesome games. 2? Meh.
Post edited June 02, 2012 by Bloodygoodgames
Posted June 02, 2012
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Bloodygoodgames: Finished the second game - really didn't like it at all. Graphics were poor compared to the first game (odd why the developers took such a huge step backwards?), story was dull and with little depth, and i hated that the pop-up heads I'd gotten used to in the first game didn't exist (they really help you become connected to the characters, I think, when you can actually tell what they look like). Plus, not a particular fan of the Lauren character, so that made gameplay excruciating - Was very happy when it was over :)

Am now midway thru the 3rd game, though, and it's excellent (got my big heads back :) So, so far, 1 and 3 - awesome games. 2? Meh.
I actually liked the 2nd game. It was part of the first game in the first project I believe. Though I'll play the games with commentary once I beat all 4. I liked Lauren. It's not like she had an easy life. I liked that it builds up to the third game, which I beat today.
I really liked the third game. It felt longer Now I'm on the 4th game, at the beginning and the fact that the portraits, or characters are not moving their lips is a step backwards in my opinion. Joey sounds a little different too, but maybe that's just me.

About the first game and the guy standing in front of your house, it's not good or bad in my opinion. It feels like a tutorial and helps to start the game off.
Post edited June 02, 2012 by Senteria
Posted June 03, 2012
I also just finished the first episode of the game. I think the game is just awesome but rather too short. I felt like the total game was just a beginning of a full story. It would have been even more great if there were two or more cases triggered by the first case and a true secret was revealed at the end of the game.
But still, I loved the game pretty much and I'm now pre-ordering the resonance!
Posted June 03, 2012
I personally prefer the second game to the first. I found Lauren much more likable than Rosa, and she had a stronger bond with Joey. The cases were also much more interesting. Starting the third game now. I wonder how much I will like this one.
Posted June 03, 2012
Just beat the 4th game in the series. And it's certainly a lot bigger, at least in my memory. Took me about 8 hours I think. It's a great game, though of course you need to have played the other games.

It's 2 am now, and I might post a review on GOG about the series. I certainly enjoyed them a lot. And this will be another adventure game I need to track. I should make a list of all the P&C adventure games I have played and sequals I need to look out for. Wish there was a place that would mail me news about them.
Post edited June 03, 2012 by Senteria
Posted November 23, 2012
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Bloodygoodgames: I absolutely LOVED the opening of the game with the temporary doorman. Didn't find it frustrating at all, and that helped pull me in. i'll bet a lot of other people agree with me??? :)
Really? I found that whole scenario extremely frustrating and nonsensical. If this had been a freeware game I would have quit right then and there- but I was determined to get my money out of it, so I kept playing (and was glad I did). ;)

The barrier is so arbitrary. Some punk teenager smoking a cigarette claims to be guarding the door to your apartment building during a "doorman's strike" you've heard nothing about. When you ask if he intends to stop you from walking through the door, he feeds you some stupid line about having 911 on speed-dial and the cops showing up in 5 minutes.

Where's the motivation to walk halfway around the city to find some neighbor who may or may not remember you? Just walk through the door, go up to your apartment and have your ID ready in the event the cops show up. The only person likely to get in trouble is the kid for calling 911 for no good reason.

I respect the author's decision to avoid the temptation to, as he put it, "play George Lucas and change everything", but his instinct that the opening of the game is great for establishing the character but horribly "gamey" and a bad way to start things off was spot on.
Post edited November 23, 2012 by jmbpiano
Posted November 30, 2012
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jmbpiano: The barrier is so arbitrary. Some punk teenager smoking a cigarette claims to be guarding the door to your apartment building during a "doorman's strike" you've heard nothing about. When you ask if he intends to stop you from walking through the door, he feeds you some stupid line about having 911 on speed-dial and the cops showing up in 5 minutes.
I actually thought that was funny, because even the main character thought it was stupid as well.
Posted December 03, 2012
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doady: I actually thought that was funny, because even the main character thought it was stupid as well.
It could have been funny- if Rosangela had called the guy's bluff and ignored him. But she treats it as a legitimate threat instead. *That's* what I don't like about it. She says the situation is stupid- but she also treats it as a genuine barrier. It's a bit of an immersion-killer right out of the gate.

If you're going to have a game about a girl being haunted by her dead Aunt's spirit guide, at least give me a relatable situation to get me comfortable with the character first. :)
Posted December 03, 2012
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jmbpiano: It could have been funny- if Rosangela had called the guy's bluff and ignored him. But she treats it as a legitimate threat instead. *That's* what I don't like about it. She says the situation is stupid- but she also treats it as a genuine barrier. It's a bit of an immersion-killer right out of the gate.
I agree with this and all of your points above. It's ridiculous, honestly, and I consider that opening event to be the weakest part of the whole series. It would have been a lot better if she'd just forgotten her building keys or something and had to go find her neighbor to let her in the building normally, rather than trying to bypass an idiot-barrier.
Posted December 06, 2012
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Bloodygoodgames: Finished the second game - really didn't like it at all. Graphics were poor compared to the first game (odd why the developers took such a huge step backwards?), story was dull and with little depth, and i hated that the pop-up heads I'd gotten used to in the first game didn't exist (they really help you become connected to the characters, I think, when you can actually tell what they look like). Plus, not a particular fan of the Lauren character, so that made gameplay excruciating - Was very happy when it was over :)

Am now midway thru the 3rd game, though, and it's excellent (got my big heads back :) So, so far, 1 and 3 - awesome games. 2? Meh.
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anoninhk: I personally prefer the second game to the first. I found Lauren much more likable than Rosa, and she had a stronger bond with Joey. The cases were also much more interesting. Starting the third game now. I wonder how much I will like this one.
Yeah, I preferred Lauren's rapport with Joey as well.

Overall, I like both Lauren and Rosa for different reasons (Lauren is the tough jaded woman that lets her guard down little when she's alone with Joey, Rosa is cerebral and even more asocial than Lauren, but quirky).

I didn't mind the fact that the game had a slightly older feel than the first given that it took place at an earlier time period. I actually wondered if the devs did it on purpose.

I found the flashback experience of playing Lauren very interesting and thought it really built up a Blackwell legacy feel.

It definitely explained why Lauren dropped the whole medium gig to take care of Rosa. It seems like it was more than just family obligation, she actually needed it too.

Also, I found that knowing what would happen to Lauren later on gave the whole story a tragic overtone.

Looking forward to starting the third chapter later tonight.
Posted September 28, 2013
The maker of the game made a newer version of the first one. This is the one in GOG. That would explain why it looks better than the second one.
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Bloodygoodgames: Finished the second game - really didn't like it at all. Graphics were poor compared to the first game (odd why the developers took such a huge step backwards?), story was dull and with little depth, and i hated that the pop-up heads I'd gotten used to in the first game didn't exist (they really help you become connected to the characters, I think, when you can actually tell what they look like). Plus, not a particular fan of the Lauren character, so that made gameplay excruciating - Was very happy when it was over :)

Am now midway thru the 3rd game, though, and it's excellent (got my big heads back :) So, so far, 1 and 3 - awesome games. 2? Meh.
Posted October 01, 2013
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Carradice: The maker of the game made a newer version of the first one. This is the one in GOG. That would explain why it looks better than the second one.
I don't think they updated the graphics or anything, the new version was just ported to use the new version of AGS, with some bugfixes I guess.

But the real reason #2 looks like it has worse production values is that it did. I think it was in this talk somewhere (towards the end maybe) that Dave talked about how Unbound story was actually supposed to be a part of Convergence - but they were having time & budget issues, and needed to release something quick to make some money, or basically be forced to shut down completely. So they pulled out that flashback story into it's own "quick & dirty" game, and were surprised at how well it was received.

Then with Convergence the upped the budget way above what it was in Legacy, and it sold poorly...
Post edited October 01, 2013 by kalirion
Posted February 20, 2014
I was wondering where to put my own thoughts on the game, this seems like a decent place.

Alright, first game, rather enjoyed it, got stuck a couple times but I don't think I needed to resort to any help to finish the game. All in all it was in some ways too simple, and at the same time if you aren't thinking the same way as the author you wouldn't know how to combine A+B to get C.

And all through the game I could only wonder 'why don't you sit down first before pulling on the tie???', seemed like it followed through all the different chapters/games.

--

Second game was confusing, namely you're playing an entirely different character, in a different time, situation, she smoked, etc. It would have been nice to have a note somewhere that this was a prequel to explaining the third and fourth parts of the game.

Graphically the second game was lacking, didn't feel the same, but it was still playable, although needed something like 5 hints of 'what do I do now?' since not everything is obvious...

--

Third game, continues where the first one left off. The location of her place was once again jarring only because the second game didn't explain itself well. The only time I needed a hint was to check Charles's email, and what the name was, everything else I already knew or could finish.

Although there's a slight inconsistency, I had the impression the countess could only be linked to one person at a time for who she would kill, yet she had Joe Gould (who didn't write anything down) and then Joseph Mitchell (who wrote about Joe Gould) getting him killed. Beyond that the game was very intuitive and flowed well.

--

Fourth game. Honestly this was the most un-intuative game in the group and I needed something like 20 hints. Maybe that's my fault for going to bed halfway through the game, but I think it was the game for being WAY too subtle most of the time. If you could only do 1 case at a time then getting notes and information confused would have happened less, and connecting things like R. Abu would mean it was Rachel I noted earlier. At the very beginning I checked the inventory and learned the business cards glowed, yet after I went to bed and then resumed the game I totally forgot that part. Lots of 'little' things.

Oh yes, and for some reason the password for Jamie's computer wouldn't work until some later time, for some odd reason. Maybe it's cause I used 1 uppercase letter by accident? I don't know...

--

Other thoughts. I think the game should have been made with 1024x768 resolution as it's default resolution, it wouldn't be hard to downgrade the resolution, or upscale it later so it could have been a lot better looking than it is. A few times the audio didn't match with the text, but that seemed minimal.

Comparing notes and combining them was annoying, sure some of the comments in through all four games was interesting but for the most part it was annoying since you either combined it when you knew it was something you could (two halfs of a name to make a whole name), but something less intuitive you just did all the combinations until something happened.

In the second game I think it was, it was annoying where you would have to re-click on a topic several times for them to say everything on the topic and get the key pieces. Would have been better if you get it all in one go, and if you click it again it either repeated or re-parsed what was already said.

A few extra hints in 'what should we do next' would have been nice in the fourth game. Dealing with Jamie on the dance floor (and all the topics you had to get right with a bunch of extra crap in the way) was annoying, that and at the end where she's being drained and you have to get her to snap out of it, and any mistake making you start over was just a time waster. At the end of that I NEVER want to play any of the games again and it's left a bad taste in my mouth.

I guess that's what I have to say on the subject and game(s).
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Blackwell seriesFinished the first game - Thoughts(23 posts)(23 posts)
(23 posts)